Why Smoking in the Media Isn’t As Big A Deal As We Think

There has been a big deal made of smoking in the media as of late. The argument has been made that smoking, no matter what the context, in the media is more likely to make teenagers and young adults want to pick up smoking. It’s a debate that has been heard countless times through decades and it’s starting to become a broken record, especially given that the majority of youths these days find smoking more unappealing than ever.

Take, for example, the fact that smoking among youth is down lower than it has ever been. Adding to that is the fact that smoking in the media is practically non-existent, especially when you compare it to how frequently it had been seen in the past. Add to the fact that there is virtually no advertisement of any kind for cigarettes beyond where you would buy them and the fact that smoking has become a factor in how films are rated and you start to see how the argument that such appearances in the media are kind of ridiculous.

The fact is that getting rid of smoking in the media isn’t going to put an end to youth smoking. So long as a young person sees anybody, in the media or otherwise, and grows up thinking smoking is no big deal, they are probably going to light up. The only way to completely and totally keep the very idea of smoking away from the youth is to simply ban all cigarette use of any kind, and the last time prohibition of any kind was placed in this county it didn’t work out all that well for either side of the debate.